Perambulator.



J. P. HOLMAN.

PBRAMBULATOR.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 2,1911.

1,036,1 17, Patented Aug.'20, 1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

Invenlor:

Walneeaea:

Josephflflolman.

J746 by J. P. HOLMAN.

PERAMBULATOR.

APPLICATION 111.131) JUNE 2, 1911.

Patented Aug". 20, 1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Iwven for: :Iasepia Fliolman.

. flllrar Wlneaees:

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH P. HOLMAN, 01: LEOMINIEB, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR T0 F. A. WHITNEY CARRIAGE 60., OF LEOMINSTER, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHU- BETTE.

PERAMBULATOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 20, 191.2.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH P. IIOLHAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Leominster, in the county of Worcester and State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Perambulators, of which the following description, in conneetiolrwith the accompanying drawing, is a spec1tication, like characters on the drawing representing like parts.

This invention relates to perambulators or bab carriages and is intended, among other t ings, to rovide a perambulator of maximum stability against accidental upsetting, which shall be at the same time 'most readily wheeled, turned, guided and otherwise manipulated, and which sliall have vanous hygienic advantages.

The character of the invention may be best understood by reference to a practical embodiment thereof shown for illustration in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the illustrative embodiment; Fig. 2 is a longittidinal, vertical cross section of the same; Fig. 3 is a horizontal section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is an end elevation as viewed from the right in Fig.2; Fig. 5 is a dc toched detail of the brake lever hereinafter more'fully described.

Referring to the drawings, the illustrative perambulator. comprises a body portion 1 mounted' upon springs 2 and 3. These springs in turn are appropriately mounted upon an axle 4 of the large wheels 5 and 6 and are suitably connected by tie rods or strips 7 and 8 with the axle 9 of the small wheels 10 and 11. The body 1 is provided with a handle 12 of any practicable construction which is preferably mounted upon the body or appropriately related thereto so as to partake of the spring support of the body whereby the 'ar and vibration imparted to the wheels w en in motion, may be trans- ,mitted to the handle only through the springs which cushion such vibration and substantially eliminate it from'the handle.

The arrangement of the springs 2 and 3 comprises various desirable convolutions affording a thoroughly yielding support for the body of the perambulator, and preferably one end of the latter is suspended by suitable straps 13 from flexible ends of the springs. This manner of supporting the body provides substantial resiliency both vertically and to a desirable extent horizontally.

The seat 14, which may he upholstered in any practicable manner, is preferably located at the opposite end of the perambulator from the handle 12; and the foot-well 15 may intervene between the seat 14 and the handle 12. The back 16, appropriately related to the seat, is adjustable to a plurality of positions between a more or less upright position and a more nearly horizontal position, permitting the occupant of the perambulator to recline. The edge of the seat- 14 which is nearest the foot-well 15, is disposed preferably in, or substantially in, the vertical plane of the axle 4 of the large wheel, this being a desirable manner of balancing the pcrainbulator to the best effect so that the center of gravity of the loaded vehicle shall be as far as necessary to the right of the vertical plane of the axle 4 in Fig. 2, whilr at the same time being near enough'to said vertical plane to permit of easy manipulation of the vehicle by means of the ha dle12. In other words, the pcrambulator as a whole is nearly balanced about the axle 4 so as to be readily turned upon the axis all'orded thereby without requiring the attendant at the handle to sustain any material weight or to apply any substantial pressure thereto in order to move the vehicle about the axle 4. By the relation of parts just described, the manipulation of the vehiclo ,is rendered very easy. and obviously the large diameter of the wheels 5 and 6 greatly facilitates the wheeling of the vehicle. As shown in the drawings. the on tor of gravity of the loaded vehicle will lie between the vertical planes of the axles 4 and 9, thereby contributing to the stability of the vehicle while at the same time said center of gravity will be high enough and near enough to the vertical plane of the axle 4 to facilitate the manipulation of the vehicle asdescribed.

It is a consideration of the greatest importance in a perambulalor of the largewheel balanced type of that illustrated in the drawings, that the same shall be as stable as possible. Obviously, the balancing of the vehicle, as in relation to the axle 4, while facilitating manipulation by the handle 12, at the same time involves some dan ger of upsettin and the problem has been to reconcile this last named disadvantage. so far as possible, with the substantial advantages which reside in the balanced type of vehicle. For example, in perambulators of the balanced type, as heretofore made, the seat-back has not been adjustable; and when desired to place the occupant in a reclining position, it has been customary to cover the seat-well or otherwise to bring the bottom of the seat-well int-o substantially the horizontal plane of the seat so as to constitute a sort of continuous bed upon which the occupant could lie with his head substantially on the seat itself proximate the back. In moving the occupant from an erect position to this recumbent position, it is evident that the body of the occupant was generally moved toward the opposite end of the vehicle from the seat-back and thereby the center of gravity of the loaded vehicle was substantially shifted to increase in a dangerous degree the unstability of equilibrium of the vehicle. For instance, if the construction of Fig. 2 did not have an adjustable back, the occupant in being moved to a reclining position, would cause the center of gravity of the" loaded vehicle to shift very materially toward the left in Fig. 2 until it would be dangerously close to the verticle plane of the axle 4. In such a situation a very slight movement on the part of the occupant, or a very slight push, would suflice to overturn the vehicle in a contraclockwise direction about the axle 4. To avoid this diiliculty the present invention provides an adjustable back 16 (the details of which will be presently explained) which moves preferably about an axis proximate the seat 14 in such a manner that when the occupant is moved into a reclining position, the back may be moved toward the horizontal so that the center of gravity of the loaded vehicle is shifted toward the right in Fig.2 to substantially increase the stability of the vehicle, instead of toward the left, as would necessarily occur in the absence of the adjustable back. Furthermore, the shifting of the center of gravity toward the right in Fig. 2 also increases the weight of the occu pant which is sustained through the stra s 13 by the adjacent freely flexible end of tiie spring; and fort-his reason the maximum resiliency of the spring support is experienced at the time when it is most desired. 2'. c. When the occupant is reclining.

For the greatest advantage, the h jndle 12 is at the opposite end of the vehic e from the adjustable back, and this is important for several reasons as will appear to those skilled in the art. For example, with the described arrangement, the vehicle as a whole constitutes a lever of the first class having its fulcrum (for example the axle 4) intermediate the center of gravity of the loaded vehicle and the handle at which the ma nipulating force is applied. As the center of gravity of the loaded vehicle is shifted toward the right of Fig. 2 upon the reclining of the occupant, effective leverage of this resistance is somewhat increased but is much more advantageously controlled by having the handle at the left of Fig. 2 than would be the case if the handle was at the rightwith the center of gravity moved nearer to it. The location of the handle on the opposite side of the fulcrum from the weight permits the carriage to be manipulated by downward pressure on the handle which is considerably easier for the attendant than would be lifting, necessitated when the handle is on the same side of the fulcrum as the weight. A further important advantage of having the adjustable back and the handle at opposite ends of the vehicle resides in the well recognized fact that the occupant of the perambulator when in a reclining positlon should travel head first.

The illustrative back 16 comprises a suitable hinge 18 connecting the seat frame 14 and the back, the latter being held in adjusted position by locking devices which cqmprise a segment 20 having a plurality of seats to receive a locking rod secured. at the lower end of a vertical slide bar 24. This bar 24 is mounted in brackets 25, .26 on the back 16 and a spring is interposed between the bracket 26 and an overhanging linger on the slide bar 24 so that said bar .24 is nor mally pressed upwardly so as to hold the locking rod 22 in whichever seat is desired. When it is desired to adjust the back, the bar 24 is pressed dmvnwardly against the spring 27 to remove the locking rod 22 from the then engaged scat. Tllul'BHPOIl the back 16 is swung upon its hinge to the desired adjustment and the locking bar 22 introduced to a new seat by releasing the downward pressure on the bar 2i and permitting the spring 27 to force the rod into the seat.

A further important contribution to the stability of the vehicle results from the ar--- rangement of the brake mechanism next to be described. The illustrative brake comprises two beams 30, 31, pivoted respectively at- 32 and 33 on'the supporting springs of the vehicle. The adj arent ends of the beams 30 and 31 have a common pivot pin 35 to which is attached a link 37. The latter is pressed toward the left in Figs. 3 and 5 by a spring 39 interposed between a head on the tip as described without rolling the large upon the cept link 37 and port of a bracket .4 0 secured to i the axle-4. 'l'he cti'ert of this spring 39 is to rock the brake beams and 25 1 about their pivots 32 and 33 in such a manner as to re move the brake shoes from contact with the wheels. The brake shoes are moved into brakin contact with the wh'eels'by means of a lever fulcrumed at 43 on the bracket and having a suitable toe or other part such as a roller 45 arranged to engage the head of the link 37 and force the latter toward the right in Figs. 3 and 5, as the lever 42 is rocked contraclockwise'in Fig. 5. It is es-' pecially preferred that this brake shall act large wheels of the vehicle, particularly in order to secure the greater stability which results from the illustrative arrangement. Referring to Fig. 2, when the brake '31, is applied, it in effect locks the entire frame and superstructure of the vehicle to the wheel 5. 'l'he effect of this is to prevent rotation of the vehicle about the axle l which, in the absence of the brake, would constitute the axis on which the vehicle would be mostlikely to tip over in a conlraclockwise direction in Fig. 2. The brake thus preventingthe overturning of the vehicle on the axle 4, the vehicle cannot tip over in a ccntraclockwise direction in Fig. 2 ex about an. axis at the point of tangency between the wheels 5 and t3 and the ground. In other words, the application of the brake shifts what may be called the tipping-over axis'from the axle 4 to the point of tan ency of the large wheels and the ground. I now the vehicle starts to tip contraclocli'wise in Fig. 2, this tippingmver axis will move toward the left as the large wheels roll in the tipping movement, it being obvious that when the brakes are on, the vehicle cannot wheels, and this tipping-over axis at the point of tangency between the large wheels and the. ground moves rapidly toward the left, while in the tipping-over movement the center of gravity of the rothted vehicle also moves toward the left; and obviously the center of gravity must move a substantially greater distance before the vehicle as a whole reaches a position of unstable equilibrium. For these reasons the arrangement of the brake as described, materially reduces the danger of upsetting pt the vehicle in the direction in which it is most likely toupset by reason of its balanced type. As a further precaution tie vehicle may be provided with stop foot so which would prevent the entire overturn of the vehicle; these are; lmwevcr, of substanti lly less importance in view of the varic enients for stability which ll it to he the specific conihed. is disclosed invention is not essentially limited to the tails thereof. ()n-thc ontrary, the specihc construction is susceptible ct wide variation within the nroncr scope of the 'sub-ioined claims.

Claims:

1. A perambulator comprising, nation, asuperstructure comprism a seat; a running gear comprising wheels of large diameter disposed on a common axis lying in substantially the vertical plane of the front edge of the seat, and additional wheels of small diameter disposed on a common axis located beyond the back end of the seat, whereby the center of gravity of the loaded vehicle lies in a vertical plane intermediate the respective axes of the large and small wheels and near theverticalplane of'the axis of the large wheels thereby substan tially bala'ncin the perambulator about sai axis; a freely the back end wheels; an adjustable back able toward the horizontal ter of gravity of the loaded vehicle is moved away from the vertical axial planepf the large wheels and toward the vertical plane of the spring suspension, as the occupant and seat-back are adjusted to a recumbent position; a handle for manipulating the vehicle, located at the front of the perambulater on the op )osite side of the vertical axial plane of t e large wheels, from the adjustable back; the vertical plane, of the common axis of said large wheels lying substantially midway between the handle and the adjustable seat-back; and means for locking the superstructure as a whole to the large wheels to increase the stability of the vehicle. I

2. A perambulator comprising, in combination, a superstructure comprisinga seat; a running gear comprising wheelsof large diameter disposed on a common axis lying in substantially the vertical plane of the front edge of the seat, and additional wheels in combidexible spring-end supporting of small diameter disposed on a common axis located beyond the back end of the seat whereby the center of gravity of the loade vchicle'lies ina vertical plane intermediate the respective axes of the large and small wheels and near the vertical plane of the axis of the large wheels thereby substantially balancing the perambulator about said axis; a freely flexible spring'end supporting the back end of the seat above the small wheels; an adjustable back for the .seat movable toward the horizontal whereby the center of gravity of the loaded vehicle is moved away from the vertical axial plane of the large-wheels and toward the vertical plane of the spring suspension, as t e occupant and scat back are adjusted to a reing thelvehicle, located at the front of the In testimony whereof, I have signed my perambulator on the opposite side of the name tQ this specification, in the presence vertical axial plane of the large Wheels, from of two subscribing witnesses.

the adjustable back, the vertical plane of the" JOSEPH P. HOLMAN. 5 common axis of said large wheels lying sub- Witnesses:

stantially midway between the handle and M. F. PHELPS,

theadiustable seat-back. ETHBL DIVOLL. 

